Engineering Manager - Backend (Transcend)

About the role

Transcend Retail Solutions, a subsidiary of Tesco, was established to become the trusted solutions partner for retailers worldwide. We offer the same cutting-edge technology that powers Tesco’s $8bn online grocery business, tailored to meet the unique needs of our global retail partners. With world-class efficiency and scale, our mission is to help retailers build online businesses that customers, colleagues, and stakeholders truly love.

We operate as a “startup within an enterprise," combining agility, ownership, and innovation with the backing of a global retail leader. If you thrive in fast-paced environments, enjoy solving real business problems, and want to make a tangible impact—this is the role for you.

As a Software Development Manager, you will lead a team of engineers, delivering high-quality software solutions that create measurable business value. You will provide technical leadership, collaborate closely with Product Managers to translate business needs into effective technical solutions, and foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.

You will also work in a customer-facing environment, building strong relationships with partners, understanding their needs, and turning feedback into impactful product and engineering outcomes. This role requires a startup mindset, with the ability to adapt quickly, make pragmatic decisions, and deliver results in a fast-paced environment.

Building relationships with retail partners may involve occasional travel and flexible working hours to support different time zones.

Tech Stack

Languages & Frameworks: Java 21+, Spring Boot, RESTful APIs

• Data: Couchbase, PostgreSQL

• Cloud & Infrastructure: Kubernetes, Docker, Azure

• CI/CD & Automation: Jenkins, GitHub Actions, SonarQube

• Testing: Selenium

• Monitoring & Logging: Prometheus, Grafana,

• Version Control: Git + GitHub

What is in it for you

Hybrid working

We know life looks a little different for each of us. That’s why at Tesco, we always welcome chats about different flexible working options. Some people are at the start of their careers, some want the freedom to do the things they love. Others are going through life-changing moments like becoming a carer, adapting to parenthood, or something else. So, talk to us throughout your application about how we can support.

This role requires you to be based in or near Kraków, as you will spend 60% (3 days) of your week collaborating with colleagues at our office locations or local sites and the rest remotely.

Our benefits

Tesco is a diverse and exciting employer, dedicated to being #aplacetogeton, providing career-defining opportunities to all of our colleagues. If you choose to join our business, we will provide you with:

• Up to 20% yearly salary bonus – based on both individual and business performance

• Permanent contract from the go – as a sign of our trust in your abilities

• Tax-deductible expenses (IP)

• Private healthcare (LuxMed)

• Cafeteria & Multisport

• Additional 4 days of paid leave to support your well-being and family life

• Increase in annual leave (from 20 to 25 days) for those not yet eligible for the full holiday entitlement

• Learning opportunities – certified technical training and a learning platform (Udemy)

• Back-to-school day – 1 day off for parents of primary school children

• Fertility leave – up to 2 weeks of paid leave for IVF treatment

• Sports activities with a personal trainer in the office

• Referral bonus

• MacBook as your work tool

If that sounds exciting, then we'd love to hear from you!

You will be responsible for

• Collaborating with stakeholders to gather requirements and translate them into scalable technical solutions

• Designing secure, performant, and maintainable system architectures and APIs

• Guiding the team in writing clean, efficient, and testable code

• Overseeing testing and quality assurance to ensure reliability and performance

• Managing deployments, monitoring system health, and optimizing performance

• Providing production support and participating in on-call rotations

• Conducting regular 1:1s, coaching team members, and supporting career development

• Building high-performing teams that consistently deliver value within tight timeframes

• Representing your team in cross-functional technical discussions

• Defining and prioritizing features for services owned by your team

• Continuously improving engineering practices and team processes

• Acting as a bridge between engineering and external stakeholders, ensuring technical solutions align with customer expectations and business goals

You will need

• Proven experience managing software engineering teams (approx. 8 people)

• 6+ years of hands-on software development experience

• Strong understanding of Agile methodologies (Scrum or Kanban)

• Fluent English with excellent communication skills

• Experience in high-scale environments (e.g., e-commerce, millions of API calls)

• Practical experience with cloud platforms (Azure or similar)

• Strong system design and architecture skills

• Track record of owning projects end-to-end and providing technical leadership

• Experience mentoring and developing engineers

• Proactive, value-driven mindset with strong problem-solving abilities

• Ability to engage effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders

• Comfortable working directly with customers and external partners to understand needs and deliver tailored solutions

• Thrives in a fast-moving, startup-like environment where priorities shift and speed matters

About us

Our colleagues work with one goal in mind, helping to make every day a little better for our customers, colleagues and communities all over the world. No two customers are the same, neither are our colleagues.

At Tesco, we champion a balance that lets you thrive both in and out of work. Spend 60% of your week collaborating with colleagues at our office locations or local sites and the rest remotely. Whether you're just kicking off your career, juggling passions, or navigating big life events, we're here to support you.

Tesco is committed to celebrating diversity and everyone is welcome at Tesco. As a Disability Confident Employer, we’re committed to providing a fully inclusive and accessible recruitment process, allowing candidates the opportunity to thrive and inform us of any reasonable adjustments they may require.

Want to get to know us better? Watch our team talk about our culture – YouTube

What our colleagues like the most at Tesco:

• We develop our own products

• We make an impact; large scale of operation

• Accountability and respect are given to us

• We cooperate and support each other

• There are great colleagues who are divided into small teams here

• We can develop and learn new things

Discover how our colleagues shape Tesco’s tomorrow.